The United Church of Canada is upset over the failure of the House of Commons (HOC) to approve a bill pertaining to Indigenous rights.

The HOC did not approve a Bill on Indigenous rights prior to its summer recess. Due to the upcoming federal election this fall, it is likely that the Bill will not be revisited.

Those part of the United Church across Canada have spent the past three years supporting Bill C-262, which would have assisted in making a nation-to-nation framework to help decide issues affecting Indigenous people, such as the Trans Mountain Pipeline. It would have also served to assist in bringing Canadian law in line with the UN Declaration on the rights of Indigenous people.

According to the United Church, Bill C-262 was opposed and delayed by some senators prior to its passage through the HOC. As a result, it did not survive its third reading on June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day and the day Senate rose for summer break.

The church remains hopeful that it may be revisited as a piece of law in the future.